Theft diminishes trust in peers

Editor’s Note: Views expressed in guest columns and letters to the editor reflect the views of the author, not the views of The State News.

It is absolutely sickening to know there are such unethical human beings who roam the streets of Michigan State’s campus.

Too often, you hear the sad news about a family member, friend or acquaintance having something of his or hers stolen.

Regardless of whether this item was something relatively small, such as a book, or something considerably large, such as a laptop, the person we know now is at a loss on the account of someone else’s immorality.

Recently, my friend’s significant other had his backpack and laptop taken from his car. Another friend trustingly left his bike unlocked outside my apartment complex, returning later to find out it had been stolen.

Unfortunately, neither of these friends has been able to bring these perpetrators to justice, and the sad truth is that they probably never will.

But there still might be a little fragment of hope for those who have been wronged.

A more fortunate buddy of mine had his longboard stolen when he left it overnight on a local tennis court.

However, luckily for him, he saw the thief riding his longboard just a few days after it was taken.

When coming into sight of the criminal and his longboard, he immediately approached the kid and asked him where he had purchased this longboard.

The thief was hesitant in his response, and my friend continued to interrogate him until he finally caved in and admitted that he had stolen the longboard.

He did not resist in surrendering the longboard once he realized he had been caught. But when giving back the longboard, he said to my friend something along the lines of, “I’m sorry, man, but if you were me, wouldn’t you have taken it?”

This is the problem. It seems that a good many people have become so corrupt with greed and selfishness that they no longer take into account the well-being of others at all.

Too many people do not consider what kind of burden and hardship they put on a person when they take his or her belongings. These criminals might think the things they steal only count as a material loss for whom they belong, but this usually is not the case.

In the scenario of my friend’s significant other, who had both his backpack and laptop stolen from his car, he is losing more than just money from this display of human selfishness.

His backpack contained books required for his classes, and unfortunately, he now might have to purchase new books in order for him to keep up with his schoolwork.

Each day he does not have his books is another day he is farther behind in class. When a laptop is stolen, cherished pictures, memorable videos and time-consuming documents all go along with it as well.

For the case of my friend who had his bike stolen from outside my apartment complex, not only did he have to buy a new bike, but for a solid amount of time he had no sufficient mode of transportation — forcing him to tediously alter his schedule so he could arrive to classes and meetings on time.

It’s frustrating to think he has to do everything on his agenda significantly earlier, all because some inconsiderate jerk decided he was going to benefit from my friend’s loss. My buddy really loved his bike. And he claims if he ever finds his bike, he is going to take a seat right next to it and wait patiently until the person responsible for stealing it comes out so he can punch that person squarely in the face.

Quite frankly, I do not see any wrongdoing in this desire. He merely is showing the criminal what he or she deserves.

Students also can witness the uprising of theft on campus just by going to the Main Library.

Pasted all over library walls and doors are flyers that bring attention to the thefts that occur there.
In addition to the numerous flyers, frequent announcements are made over the library’s PA system, advising students to not leave their belongings unattended for even a moment.

The fact that I have to take all of my things with me when I go to the bathroom at the library is absurd.

Maybe I am asking too much, but it would really be nice to live in a society where trusting others is not such a wild fantasy.

Ron Kim is a guest columnist at The State News and an English junior. Reach him atkimronal@msu.edu.